According to reports, the Patriots yesterday signed former Jets veteran defensive end Shaun Ellis to a one-year deal, pending a physical.
The 34-year-old Ellis, who had 36 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, should bolster the Pats’ pass rush. Last week, the Patriots signed veteran Mark Anderson to also help in that area.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Ellis is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and has experience in both the 3-4 and 4-3 defense.
The Patriots had Ellis in for a workout last Thursday. Earlier last week, the Jets offered the unrestricted free agent a one-year contract at the veteran’s minimum.
Ellis, who’ll enter his 12th NFL season, had a huge game against the Patriots in the Jets’ 28-21 playoff win last year, coming up with five tackles and sacking quarterback Tom Brady twice.
Solid returns
Julian Edelman’s role on offense diminished last season — he had just seven receptions for 86 yards — but he blossomed into the Patriots’ top punt returner, leading the AFC with a franchise-record 15.3-yard average.
“He’s just growing into it,” Patriots special teams coach Scott O’Brien said. “Every year he has more confidence because he feels better about playing situations that he gets on the field, and then he feels like he’s in better control like all of the good ones.
“We’re looking for big things from Julian,” O’Brien said, “and giving him the opportunities to do it and again, he has come a long way. We’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously, but I think he’s starting to see the confidence that comes from the maturity and experience of doing it.”
Edelman, a quarterback at Kent State, had little experience in the return game in college. His rookie year with the Patriots, when he had 37 catches for 359 yards, he returned a handful of kickoffs and punts.
In the 2010 regular-season finale against Miami, Edelman set another franchise record with a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown. Three weeks earlier, in Chicago, Edelman had a 71-yard return to the end zone negated by a holding penalty.
While Edelman finished the year strong, Brandon Tate, the team’s leading kickoff returner, started it that way but fizzled to the finish.
Tate, who missed just about all of 2009, his rookie season, with a knee injury, was electrifying over the first few games of 2010. In the opener against the Bengals, Tate returned a squib kick 97 yards for a TD. Three weeks later in Miami, Tate returned the second-half kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown.
In the Patriots’ first four games, Tate averaged 33.4 yards on 18 returns. In the last 12, he dipped to 19.8 yards on 23 returns.
“When you have success early, it becomes harder,” O’Brien said. “It doesn’t become easier because now everybody is looking for you. In Brandon’s case last year, he was really like a rookie. He really never had that chance.
“He came a long way, but you never know enough about being a returner and a specialist relative to the experience that you can gain right away. You have to do it enough times to get put in the situations because they’re scheming you now relative to just giving you the deep ball and letting you run like you normally do.”
Tate finished sixth in the league with a 25.8-yard average. As a kickoff return unit, the Pats ranked 18th.
“Do we need to do a better job there? Yes, overall, collectively we sure do,” O’Brien said. “I think (Tate) will be better for experiencing it and learning from it, which is part of the evaluation.”
Flying Tiger
Running back Stevan Ridley was a workhorse for LSU last season, carrying the ball 249 times for more than 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns.
With BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk not eligible to practice until last Thursday, it was a busy beginning to Ridley’s first NFL training camp, too.
“The only way you’re ever going to get onto the field is to take advantage of the opportunities you’re given,” Ridley said. “You have to come out here and make the best out of each and every opportunity, and that’s all I’m trying to do.”
The Patriots selected Ridley in the third round of the draft. New England took former Cal running back Shane Vereen in the second round. Vereen has missed the last few practices.
Fellow LSU product Faulk, who is on the physically unable to perform list, has spoken highly of Ridley, calling him a “smart player” and a “quick learner.” Sounds like Bill Belichick’s kind of guy.
“Whoever comes in here and works the hardest is who gets the reps in the game,” Ridley said, “so it’s all about hard work and dedication. And you’ll learn that around this team. That’s what I’ve picked up on pretty quick. We have a lot of team guys around here. I’m just following in their direction.
“I’ve been a team player, and I’m going to continue to be a team player. Any time you play together, you get a lot more accomplished than trying to do something by yourself.”
Ridley started camp with uniform No. 37, but when Thomas Clayton was cut, he switched to No. 22, his high school uniform number and ode to Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.
“I still have a lot to do, a lot to do,” Ridley said. “And I’m not satisfied. This team’s not satisfied, and Coach Belichick is not satisfied. I haven’t played a down of NFL football. I’m just going to come out here, and I’m going to work hard every day.”
Day of rest
New league rules require that players are given one day off every seven days of training camp. That day off was yesterday for the Patriots.
They return to the practice field from 1:30-4 p.m. today.
The Pats play their first preseason game Thursday night against the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.
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